Sarah's Story

Sarah joined Watsi on April 28th, 2020. Three years ago, Sarah joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Sarah's most recent donation supported Jacinta, is a 45-year-old shop owner from Kenya, to fund debridement and skin grafting.

Impact

Sarah has funded healthcare for 35 patients in 7 countries.

patients you have funded

Daw Nan is a 64-year-old woman from Myanmar. She lives with her husband in a village in Karen State. Her husband is retired and she occasionally works as an agricultural day laborer. She also grows cashews in her garden and sells what she harvests once a year. Sometimes, her daughter, who works in Thailand, sends her pocket money. In her free time, she likes to go to the temple and meditate. Currently, she can only perceive light with her right eye and the vision in her left eye is starting to blur. She cannot see people's faces with her right eye, and her left eye is sensitive to light. Because of her poor vision, she can only walk slowly because she is worried that she will trip and fall. She also feels stressed about her vision problem, and she has lost weight and has little appetite. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund lens replacement surgery for Daw Nan. On February 10th, doctors will perform a lens replacement, during which they will remove Daw Nan's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help to fund this $1,500 procedure. Daw Nan said, "Since the vision in my right eye worsened and I noticed that the vision in my left eye is worsening, I feel stressed at all times. I cannot work properly as my [left] eye hurts and waters when it is bright outside. I feel sad. Even though I eat, I have a poor appetite and I have lost weight. I will be very happy if I can see again after my surgery."

$875raised
$625to go

Nashon is a farmer, a husband, and a father of one. He grows potatoes while his wife is a hair salonist. Nashon dropped out of school in grade 8 because of lack of funds at home. The young family is hardworking but since Nashon fractured his leg, he hasn’t been able to work in his farm and he is relied on as the breadwinner of his family. His wife says “It has not been easy for me since he broke his leg. I have to work extra hard to feed my family since he is the pillar of our family.” Their family lives in a single room house with grass as its roof. One month ago, Nashon experienced a severe road traffic accident that costed him a right tibia fracture. Nashon was a passenger in a motorbike which lost control and clenched into a ditch. He sustained an open fracture in his right leg. He was rushed to Kapsowar Hospital where he needed emergency surgery to clean his wounds. He was discharged with a cast to recover at home. Three weeks later, Nashon returned to hospital for a normal checkup. During the visit, It was recognized that his fracture had not healed and he needs a surgery to heal and stabilize a broken bone. Nashon is unable to use his leg, work, and provide for his family. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. If Nashon undergoes a fracture repair procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation, Nashon will be able to use his leg, work and provide for his family. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1145 to fund this procedure. Nashon says, "It has been hard to carry out my normal duties especially going to my farm. I look forward to getting well so that I can support my family.”

$1,145raised
Fully funded

Dennis is the first born in a family of four children. When he finished high school, he was reluctant to join college because of his condition. He currently is not able to work because he gets easily tired and cannot carry heavy loads. He joined college just recently but has been out of school for the past two months. Now that he is at home, he helps his mother who picks tea for a living. He does not have a health insurance coverage and cannot raise the required amount of money to cater for his hospital bill. In 2019 while he was sitting for his national school exams, Dennis experienced sharp pain in his esophagus. He took a glass of water, and the pain went away for a few weeks. The pain used to occur roughly two times in a month and a glass of water would help a lot. Late last year, the pain worsened. He was not in a position to swallow food. He went to a herbalist and was given some medication to use for some time. When the dose was over, the pain was still persistent, and he still could not swallow food normally. He was then referred to Kijabe Hospital by a friend where he was examined and given some medication to use. He didn't feel better and decided to go back to the herbalist for different medication but there was no change. Later he finally returned to Kijabe Hospital and scans and tests revealed that he has Achalasia. He is scheduled for a heller's myotomy which is a curative laparotomy surgery for his condition. Now he needs $1,074 to pay for the surgery. Dennis says, "I feel very sad. If I was healthy, I would be able to work well and be comfortable with myself.”

$1,074raised
Fully funded